廁所文化（Toilet Culture）

  Everybody staying at a certain place long enough needs to know where the toilet is. I tried to find one when I first visited the Divinity School Library， the oldest school in Yale University： I tried to find the signs with words such as WC， Ladies， Bathroom， and Washroom. I used all the knowledge I had about toilet， but I could not find one. My common sense told me that it was impossible not to find one in the library， so I kept trying. Eventually I found a door on which was a single word： WOMEN.

    任何人在一個地方停留一段時間，就需要知道廁所在哪里。當我第一次到耶魯大學神學院圖書館時——神學院是耶魯大學最老的學院，我就想找?guī)?。我首先?ldquo;WC”，“Ladies”，“Bathroom”和“Washroom”等字樣，我?guī)缀跤昧宋覍W過有關廁所的所有詞匯，但還是沒有找到。生活常識告訴我，在這么大的圖書館沒有廁所是不可能的，我又繼續(xù)尋找，最后找到標有“WOMEN”字樣的門。

　　Although it did not look at all like a toilet， I assumed it must be one. And because I couldn't wait any longer， I had to try it. As I opened the door， I was sure I made a mistake， so I came out immediately. For what I had entered was a room much larger than my living room in Beijing， with a standing lamp by an antique-like table on a beautiful green carpet. On one side of the room， there was a very decent brown sofa， above which there was a wall mirrored up to the ceiling. There were two other sofas， by the side of the table. In one corner was a clothes hanger and in another corner was a big pot of green plants. It looked like a sitting room or lobby in a hotel. There was no sign of a toilet. But it was the only possible place a toilet could be. Then I remembered that there was another door in the room， so I went back in and opened the door. And there it was！ What relief！ I found it at last！ The toilet room was only half the size of the outer room. It had only two seats with two sinks. What luxury“！ It was like a two-room flat.

    盡管從外表上看一點也不像廁所，但是直覺告訴我，這就是廁所。我確實也憋不住了，不得不去試一下。當我推開門時，我認定我弄錯了，立即退了出來。因為我看到的房間比我在北京的客廳還要大。房間里鋪著漂亮的綠色地毯，古色古香的桌子旁有一個落地臺燈。房間的一側放著一個相當漂亮的棕色長沙發(fā)，沙發(fā)上方有一個覆蓋了一面墻的大鏡子頂著天花板。房間的另一側在桌子旁是一對單人沙發(fā)。房間的一角放著衣架，另一角放著一個種有綠色植物的大花盆，看上去像個豪華賓館的休息室，一點不像廁所，但是這又是惟一可能是廁所的地方。納悶時我記起這個房間里還有一個門，我決然走進去，把門打開。如釋重負！我終于找到了廁所。它只有外面休息室一半大小的面積，有兩個便座和兩個洗手池、這太奢侈了！像是個兩居室住所。

　　After I relieved myself， another question occurred to me： since it was impossible for such a big library to have only one toilet， I had to ask someone about toilets. A “Rest Room” is also a toilet. The “rest” had only one seat and it was unisex. Both women and men could use it by locking the door from the inside.

    完恭后，我又想，這么大的一個圖書館不可能只有這么一個廁所，我不得不去請教別人。“休息室”，是廁所的另一代詞。它只有一個便座，而且是不分性別的，誰進去只要把門反鎖上就可專用。

　　To refer to a toilet as a “rest room” is miles apart from the Chinese idea of a toilet. I never related the “rest room” with a “toilet”。 Here at Yale， when I use a toilet designated “women”， I feel myself a queen and enjoy looking at myself in a large mirror to see if I am properly attired. And when using a “rest room”， I do have a feeling of rest， because it is clean and has a window with a beautiful view.

    “休息室”與中文廁所的概念相距十萬八千里。我從沒把“休息室”與“廁所”聯(lián)系在一起。而在耶魯，當我使用標？quot；women“的廁所時，真有點像當上了皇后的感覺，在休息室大鏡子前面自我欣賞一番，整理二下自己的衣著。當我使用”休息室“時，確實領會到休息的實在含意，因為休息室窗明幾凈，窗外景色迷人。

　　My experience with the toilet at Yale has enlightened me as to why American visitors often asked for the toilet when they arrived at our university： they may have needed to relieve themselves but they may have needed more to make sure that they were presentable before meeting our president. It is a kind of moment of privacy that they need. I can imagine how disappointed they must have been when they found no mirrors in our toilets！ Their toilets have more functions than ours.

    在耶魯大學使用廁所的經歷，使我明白了為什么以前美國來賓到我們學校時，總會問“廁所在哪里？”，現在回想起來，她們有可能是要使用廁所，但更需要的是在去見校長前，梳理化妝一番。她們需要一點“隱私”的時間。我可以想象，當她們發(fā)現我們的廁所里沒有鏡子時，會多么沮喪。她們的廁所功能遠比我們的多。